As part of our ongoing Go-to-Market (GTM) Research, I recently sat down with Jeannie Zaemes, Senior Vice President of Marketing, and James Bishop, Vice President of Marketing at Vanillasoft, for an open conversation about how marketing and GTM strategies and programs are evolving.
Vanillasoft is a leader in sales engagement and lead management, giving marketing and sales teams a structured and consistent way to reach prospects, respond quickly, and convert more opportunities. The platform helps organizations streamline outreach, focus on the right accounts, and run GTM programs that are both efficient and precise. By unifying workflows and surfacing actionable signals, Vanillasoft enables customers to turn data into real discovery and momentum in their pipeline.
What unfolded was a candid discussion about the state of modern marketing and how efficiency, data precision, and the changing landscape of search are reshaping the work of GTM teams everywhere. What struck me most wasn’t just the challenges they described, but their balanced, forward-looking optimism about what comes next.
Three big ideas stood out.
Efficiency: Doing More with Less, but Smarter
Jeannie opened the conversation with a story from her recent experience that could have come from almost any GTM leader over the past few years.
“At one point, we had three different tools to run webinars and were spending nearly $80,000 on something that should’ve cost a fraction of that.”
That example captures the hangover many companies are feeling after years of unchecked SaaS growth. During the pandemic, tech stacks ballooned. Now, as budgets tighten and boards demand ROI, GTM leaders are being asked to prove efficiency, not just motion.
Both Jeannie and James echoed a new reality: growth now depends on doing more with less but doing it smarter. RevOps maturity, stack consolidation, and better measurement aren’t cost-cutting exercises; they are restoring clarity and focus.
“Efficiency doesn’t mean pulling back”, Jeannie noted. “It’s about knowing which tools, channels, and strategies actually move the needle.”
This shift mirrors what we’re hearing across our 2026 research: efficiency is becoming the new north star of GTM.
Precision: The Balance Between Data and Discovery
When the conversation turned to intent data and account targeting, both Jeannie and James lit up. Vanillasoft has been developing its own approach to identifying buying signals by looking at dozens of potential indicators and scoring them to help sales and marketing focus where it matters most.
Yet, as James pointed out, precision can quickly turn into tunnel vision.
“There’s a danger of confirmation bias”, he said. “If you only target accounts that look like your best customers, you might miss entire adjacent markets.”
That tension between precision and exploration defines the next evolution of account-based marketing and demand orchestration. It’s not just about finding lookalikes but discovering neighbors, buyers who share success factors without being identical.
Jeannie added that they’re testing these signals in campaigns and content strategies, using them to personalize without overfitting. It’s a delicate balance between efficiency and expansion, and it’s exactly where GTM innovation is happening.
Discovery: Thriving in the New Search Landscape
Later in the conversation, we went deep on one of the biggest shifts facing every marketer today: the rise of AI-driven search and discovery.
As tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity reshape how people find information, some claim SEO is dying. Jeannie and James disagreed strongly.
“We’ve been here before”, Jeannie said. “Every new platform changes how people discover information. Our job as marketers is to stay curious and keep communicating in the ways people actually search.”
James shared how consent-based analytics and generative search complicate traffic measurements. What looks like a traffic drop in GA4 may really be a data visibility problem, not a discovery problem. Both agreed that AI Engine Optimization (AEO) is the next evolution of SEO, not its replacement.
Their takeaway, the fundamentals still matter: clear communication, useful content, and human trust. Tools change, but strategy doesn’t.
Closing: From Tools to Trust
Across all three themes of efficiency, precision, and discovery, a clear pattern emerged. GTM leaders who thrive in this environment rely on discipline to focus on what truly drives growth and discernment to decide where to invest their limited time, budget, and attention. Success now depends less on adopting every new tool and more on knowing which levers to pull, when, and why.
Jeannie summed it up perfectly:
“Marketing’s job hasn’t changed. It’s still about communicating a message to a targeted audience and asking for a call to action. What’s changed is how many new ways we can do that.”
Conversations like this are what our GTM research is built on. Each discussion with marketing and sales leaders offers lessons that deepen our understanding of what works and why. The future of go-to-market isn’t about chasing every new trend. It’s about learning from those leading the way and focusing on the strategies that truly create meaningful connections.